SUNBURY —
U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta, R-11 of Hazleton, and Tom Marino, R-10 of Cogan Station, voted last week for the $606 billion 2013 Defense Appropriation bill, and now they’re taking heat from Democratic challengers for agreeing to cuts that would affect funding for the Tobyhanna Army Depot, one of the largest employers in northeast Pennsylvania.
If passed in its present form, the bill would reduce by about $2 billion, the funding for the type of work done at Tobyhanna, which includes the maintenance, repair and recalibration of communications and electronic equipment, such as radar.
When pressed for an explanation, Barletta said in a public letter that his vote in favor of the defense spending bill was based on erroneous information.
“When the congressman voted in favor of the bill,” said Barletta spokeswoman Renita Fennick, “he based his vote on inaccurate information used by the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to compose the $606 billion defense bill. After the defense spending bill was overwhelmingly passed in a bipartisan vote (326-90), it was discovered that the authors of the bill based their recommendations on an accounting error. They wrongly determined that there was sufficient ‘carryover,’ or unused funds for the maintenance and funding of the nation’s military depots, including Tobyhanna Army Depot.”
Rep. Barletta stressed that he would not vote for a bill that jeopardizes Tobyhanna, an important installation to the military and a major employer in the 11th District, Fennick said.
“When I voted for the bill, I did so with the understanding that funding for the Tobyhanna Army Depot was not being compromised,” Barletta said. “I, along with the other 325 members of Congress who voted in favor of the bill, both Republicans and Democrats, believed the information provided to us was accurate.”
Since the Senate passed its own version of the defense appropriations bill, the two bills are headed to conference where Barletta said the issue will be resolved.
On Friday, he sent a letter to leaders of both chambers asking them to remedy the situation in conference and to ensure Tobyhanna and the other facilities receive adequate funding for their operations.
But Gene Stilp, Barletta’s Democratic opponent in November, wasn’t buying Barletta’s explanation.
“He has to be criticized for his vote and not knowing that the bill affects Tobyhanna in a very negative way,” Stilp said. “This is a huge bill and a major bill, and for Mr. Barletta to not understand, at least, how it would affect people in the newly redrawn 11th District shows he still has a lot to learn about how Congress works. He certainly could have proposed an amendment to the bill that would have held it up and protected a leading employer like Tobyhanna. With an economy like this, you have to be aware of things like this.”
Tobyhanna Army Depot is not in the newly redrawn 11th District, Stilp acknowledged, “but there sure are a lot of people who live in the district who work there.”
Meanwhile, Marino could not be reached for comment.
But his fall opponent, Democrat Phil Scollo, of Dingman Township in Pike County, had plenty to say.
“Unless it is fixed, this defense appropriations bill could be a real disaster for our region’s economy and especially for the hard-working families employed at Tobyhanna,” Scollo said. “Republicans and Democrats alike voted for this bill, but it appears as if none of them was actually looking out for the people of northeastern Pennsylvania.”
“Tom Marino owes the people of northeastern Pennsylvania an explanation. Did he know what the local impact of this bill was at the time of his vote? If so, why did he support it instead of fixing it?”
In total, the legislation provides $518.1 billion in nonwar defense funding, and $87.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations for defense activities related to the global war on terror.
n With reports from The Associated Press.
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